In any power transmission system for providing machine movement, it is important to efficiently transfer power from a power source to a driven implement such as a wheel, track, or other ground-engaging system. With respect to electrical/hybrid drive trains, various transmission formats have arisen to provide this function, each having distinct advantages, as well as potential disadvantages relative to the others. Such formats include for example series, parallel and power split formats.
Unfortunately, the formats are generally mutually exclusive, and it has been necessary to forgo the advantages of all but one format in any given implementation. As a result designers have been required to select the format with the most advantages for a particular implementation, with the understanding that the selected format will in some instances be disadvantageous. For example, a format that provides efficient high speed operation may be inefficient or ineffective during a different mode of operation such as start up.
Thus, although electrical/hybrid machines have in general been very successful, the available drive trains have been inadequate to fully realize the benefits of these power systems. The disclosed principles provide a mechanism for overcoming the noted deficiencies as will be appreciated from the following description.